I’m not putting you in the position of defending anyone.
The First Amendment only applies to censorship BY THE GOVERNMENT.
You have no ‘Free Speech’ rights when your speech is against another citizen.
“Suppose hypothetically that Lon Horiuchi got killed and the media was hailing him as a hero. The family of Randy Weaver and the Waco Survivors wanted to demonstrate at his funeral against both Horiuchi personally and the practices of the FBI and ATF.”
You are using a hypothetical that does not exist.
IF the protest was against the Government or any of it’s agencies, then yes, the ‘Free Speech’ protection of the First Amendment applies.
If, however, you are protesting a ‘private citizen’ that has no ties with the government and are deliberately ‘slandering’ them with lies, then no, you don’t have First Amendment protections and there are laws and courts that can and will be used to directly address those issues.
The First Amendment does NOT say ‘The citizens shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.’
It says ‘Congress’. In other words the ‘Government’.
Wrong. You can speak against another citizen all you want, provided it's not slanderous or libelous. Happens all the time right here on FR.
"You are using a hypothetical that does not exist."
ROTFLMAO...dude...that's the definition of "hypothetical." Did you look that up or figure it out all by yourself?
As I understand it, the Phelps folks are arguing that their protests at soldier funerals are precisely because they were employees/agents of the government (i.e. military); they are claiming the deaths are the results of the government's embrace of homosexuals. That's tantamount to my hypothetical protest/demonstration at a Horiuchi funeral...a private individual who is known for his role as a government employee. I think it would be tasteless, but alas, the First Amendment protects things we may find unsavory.
Again, not to defend Phelps & Co., but what lies have they told about the deceased? "God hates you"? Can you prove otherwise? To my knowledge, based on the photos of their freak show that I've seen, all of their statements/signs have been general enough to avoid any classification as slander/libel against any individual...if they crossed that line, I'm sure somebody would have pursued that line against them by now. Furthermore, to my knowledge, they've been pretty careful about not trespassing on private property, obstructing traffic, obtaining all the locally required permits, etc. You and I may not care one bit for their disgraceful behavior, but it seems to me they are well within their rights to demonstrate as they have.